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Tasmania's Scalefish Fishery
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Tasmania's commercial scalefish fishery is a multi-species fishery that is very important to Tasmania.
The name 'Scalefish Fishery' could be considered to be slightly misleading as it includes 'non-scaled' species such as school shark (Galeorhinus galeus) and gummy shark (Mustelus antarcticus) as well as cephalopods such as southern calamari (Sepioteuthis australis) and arrow (Gould's) squid (Nototodarus gouldi) as pictured below.
Fishing methods are many and varied. They include a diverse array of nets, long lines deploying hooks, squid jigs, traps and other techniques.
Prior to 1994 there was minimal management control over catch and total effort within the fishery, with access to the fishery being restricted only by the requirement of commercial fishing participants to hold a Tasmanian Fishing Boat Licence and/or a commercial Fisherman's licence.
After 1994, in line with the objectives described in the Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995, the (then) Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries developed formal managements arrangement for the sustainable management of Tasmania's marine resources.
The Scalefish Management Plan was introduced, taking effect in 1998, bringing with it minimum size limits for various species along with various net mesh size regulations. This plan was developed 'in an environment of uncertainty regarding the status of many fish stocks, and a paucity of information for many species. This uncertainty required that precautionary management principles be implemented for the fishery...' (Scalefish Policy Document).
An integral part of the management plan is the specific identification of performance indicators. The indicators have two specific functions. These are to monitor the performance of the management plan (with regard to catch and effort), as well as to give precise reference points that can be used in fish stock assessment and comparisons.
With the scalefish fishery being as diverse and dynamic as it is, it is managed primarily by input (gear) controls as opposed to output (catch) controls that are used in other fisheries such as the abalone and rock lobster (quota) fisheries.
Commercial access to all of the various scalefish species is now determined by specific licences along with appropriate and precise gear allocations. The level of access was determined by previous involvement in the fishery, using catch histories coupled with the type of fishing gear that was used, to enable an allocation of the appropriate type of licence.
Those with the most significant involvement in the fishery were allocated an 'A' licence. Those with an intermediate history gained a 'B' licence and those with little or no history were allocated a 'C' licence. The amount of fishing gear allowed reduces accordingly for 'B' and 'C' licences.
With the introduction of the Scalefish Management Plan there have been specific areas closed to commercial fishing. These regions (including the D'Entrecasteaux Channel) include mainly 'recreational only' and 'no-take' areas, and also include such areas as shark nursery areas and places that are vulnerable to netting, such as estuaries and river mouths. Some areas that are open to commercial fishing may also have regulations that govern and restrict fishing gear.
The fishing fleet in the scalefish fishery is diverse and dynamic, responding to variations in market demand as well as species availability and abundance. With fisheries that are managed by seasonal or annual biological assessment it is not uncommon for specific fisheries to have closures that can take effect for minimal periods of time. When this happens the boats are often redeployed into other fisheries.
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For an industry structure profile covering:
- Background
- Industry structure
- Economic data
- Government inputs and involvement
- Objectives for the future
- What's going on in the industry
- Useful links
- Licencing requirements
- Fisheries Legislation and Management Plans
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